Jeanne Jugan
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| Jeanne Jugan | |
| Born | October 25, 1792 Brittany, France |
|---|---|
| Died | 1879 (age 87) |
| Occupation | Foundress of Little Sisters of the Poor |
Jeanne Jugan (October 25, 1792 – 1879), was born in Brittany, France, the sixth of the eight children of Joseph and Marie Jugan. Her father died when she was very young and her mother raised this large family alone. When Jeanne was 16, she took a job as the kitchen maid of the Viscountess de la Choue. The viscountess, a devout Christian, had Jeanne accompany her when she visited the sick and the poor. Nine years later, Jeanne began working in the town hospital of Saint Servan. She worked hard at this physically demanding job but after six years, she left the hospital and went to work for an elderly woman. In the course of Jeanne's duties, the two women recognized a similar Christian spirituality and began to teach catechism to youngsters and care for the poor and other unfortunates, until Jeanne's friend died.
In 1837, Jeanne and a 72-year old woman (Francoise Aubert) rented part of a small cottage and were joined by Virginie Tredaniel, a 17-year old orphan. These three women then formed a community of prayer, devoted to teaching the catechism and assisting the poor. Two years later, Jeanne brought a blind widow (Anne Chauvin) to their home and even allowed the woman to sleep in her own bed. From this act of charity, with the approval of her colleagues, Jeanne then focused her attention upon the mission of assisting abandoned elderly women, and from this beginning arose a community called "The Little Sisters of the Poor". Jeanne wrote a simple rule for this new community of women, and they daily went door-to-door requesting food, clothing and money for the women in their care. This was Jeanne's life work, and she performed this mission for the next four decades.
By 1879, the community Jeanne founded had 2,400 Little Sisters and had spread across Europe and to North America. That year, Pope Leo XIII approved the constitutions for the Little Sisters of the Poor. Jeanne died that year and was buried in the graveyard at the motherhouse. She was beatified in Rome by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1982.
